Tighten the main sheet.
For the 17th time, the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race will launch Thursday just south of the Bay Bridge and make a 126-mile journey to Norfolk, Va.
The race was started in 1990 as a personal challenge by Lane Briggs, a captain from Norfolk, to the Pride of Baltimore II and was sailed between Baltimore and Norfolk because of the rich sailing history the two cities share.
“A big part of it is to recognize the maritime heritage of the bay,” said Nan Nawrocki, the vice president of Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, Inc., and chair of the Maryland Racing Committee.
The race is a partnership between the Friends of the Chesapeake Bay in Portsmouth, Va., and Baltimore, an organization that educates students about the bay. The race donates the excess participation fee funds to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
“We provide a resource for kids to learn about the bay,” Nawrocki said.
Forty-four ships are officially registered for the race, but about 35 of them will be in the Inner Harbor today for a ship parade at 4:30 p.m. The ships will be of all shapes and sizes, from working to education to recreational vessels.
Of course, if there is a sailing race in Maryland, the Pride of Baltimore II will be there.
“To have Maryland?s sailing ambassador involved is really appropriate,” said Pride captain Jan Miles. “It is a symbol of the friendship or family relationship in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed between Maryland and Virginia. Instead of being a race for hot-shot racers, it is a celebration of the value the bay has for everyone.”
The winner of the race only gets bragging rights, but prizes are not what the race is all about.
“Just to see that many boats, it brings you back in time,” said Steven Briggs, the captain of the Norfolk Rebel and the son of race founder Lane Briggs. “It gets everybody together and spreads awareness of the Chesapeake Bay. I hope to keep this race going as a way of honoring my dad.”
Sail away
» Captain Steven Briggs? ship, the Norfolk Rebel, is a Tugantine, a schooner-rigged tug boat. It was the first of its kind when it was made in 1980.
» Some commercial boats offer a chance for people to purchase a ride for the race, but as Nan Nawrocki said, those spots usually sell out.
» At 157 feet, the Pride of Baltimore II is the second-longest boat racing this year.
